Dental floss

ABSTRACT

A unique dental floss that is color coded to assist in its use. Alternate lineal sections of the floss are colored. The colored sections are waxed and the uncolored sections are unwaxed. The stronger colored sections are used to position the floss in the interproximal space while the more absorbent uncolored sections are used for the actual cleaning process.

United States Patent Erickson Aug. 5, 1975 i541 DENTAL FLOSS 3.789,85S2/1974 Pesce 132/89 [76] Inventor: Forrest E. Erickson, 6317 N.

Kirkwood, Chi ago [IL 60646 Primary E.\'aminerG. E. McNeil] Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Alter and Weiss [22] Filed: Aug. 27, 1974 [21] Appl No.:500,852 [57] ABSTRACT [52] US CL H 132/89 A unique dental floss that iscolor coded to assist in its use. Alternate lmeal sections of the flossare colored.

[5] 1 Int. Cl .4 A6lc 15/00 Th 1 d d d th I d [581 Field of Search132/89, 90, 91, 93 co we Sec e 9' sectlons are unwaxed. The strongercolored sections [56] Reierences Cited are used to position the floss mthe mterproxrmal space while the more absorbent uncolored sectlonsUNITED STATES PATENTS are used for the actual cleaning process.2,6l2,l77 9/1952 Footer v. 132/93 3.699.979 10/1972 Muhler or 132/89 9Claims, 5 Drawing Figures DENTAL FLOSS This invention is concerned ingeneral with products used for the care of teeth, and more particularlyin improved dental flosses.

Mucous plaque is a primary cause of dental ulcerations anddisintegrations of the supporting bone struc ture of the teeth and ofperiodontal diseases. To effectively prevent periodontal diseases,dentists in the recent past have been promulgating information so thatthe average person will be educated as to how best to remove the mucousplaque.

There are many prophylactic dental products on the market today whichare used for removing the mucous plaque found in the interproximalspaces and on the proximal surfaces of the teeth. The most commonly usedpreventative dentistry product is the toothbrush. However, thetoothbrush does not reach into the interproximal spaces and the proximalsurfaces of the teeth and therefore does remove mucous plaque.

Toothpicks are also used for cleaning the teeth and especially forremoving food matter for the interproxima] spaces between the teeth.However, when toothpicks are used in an attempt to clear the mucousplaque, many times the user will bruise his gums and may even causeinfections of the gums. Thus, tooth picks are frowned upon as a devicefor safe use in removing the mucous plaque.

Water picks also have been found effective for removing the foodparticles from the interproximal space and thus preventing a build up ofmucous plaque. However, the watenpicks are not an effective means ofremoving mucous plaque that has already formed. Dental flosses arepreferred as the most effective and efficient mucous plaque removers.However, various problems arise in the use of dental flosses presentlyon the market.

There are two major forms of dental flosses presently on the market.One, is the waxed floss wherein the surface of the dental floss iscovered with a waxy substance to facilitate passing the floss throughthe interproximal spaces without tearing. The second major form ofdental floss presently available is the type of floss that is notcovered with the waxy substance.

A problem with the waxed dental floss is that since it is waxed, it isnot as effective in removing the mucous plaque. The problem with theunwaxed floss is that it tends to tear when trying to pass it throughtight interproximal spaces.

Thus, ideally a dertal floss should have portions waxed and unwaxed thewaxed portions for use in passing the dental floss through tightinterproximal spaces, while the unwaxed portions being for use in theactual process of removing the mucous plaque from the teeth.

Prior art patents have taught such dental flosses. However, it has beenhard in the past to distinguish the waxed from the unwaxed portions,while the floss is in the interproximal space between the teeth of theuser or is in the user's mouth.

In some ofthe prior art flosses the shape of the dental floss variesbetween the wax and the unwaxed portions. The waxed portions were madenarrower and the un* waxed sections were longer, wider flat sections.However, the dental floss tends to lose these varied shapes during use.For example, when the waxed portion is put between the teeth and thenthe dental floss is moved so that the unwaxed portion is between theteeth, there is no telling which is the waxed portion and which is theunwaxed portion; since in placing the narrower section between theteeth, the floss tends to flatten out. Thus theres no practicaldistinction between the waxed and unwaxed sections in the prior artflosses.

The result is that the user may be using the waxed portion, which doesntabsorb well in attempting to clean mucous plaque from the teeth.Similarly, the user may use a previously used portion of the floss inthe next interproximal space and thereby transfer deliterious bacteriafrom one interproximal space to another interproximal space, therebyaiding and abetting the adverse effects of the mucous plaque, ratherthan removing this cause of dental caries.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide new andunique dental flosses.

A further object of this invention is to provide dental flosses havingwaxed and unwaxed portions that are clearly marked, and which markingsare not obliterated by the use of the dental floss.

A further object of the present invention is to provide dental flossesthat are color coded to readily distinguish between the waxed andunwaxed portions of the dental flosses and also to readily distinguishbetween those portions of the floss which are used for cleaning theteeth and those portions which are used for passing the floss throughtight interproximal spaces.

A further object of this invention is to provide dental flosses thathave the same cross sectional area throughout and are preferrably ofmedium thickness to maximize the absorbing power of the flosses.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide color coded dentalflosses to aid the user in performing the proper operations for removingthe mucous plaque from the spaces between the teeth, while at the sametime enabling the user to adroitly place and remove the dental flossesbetween the teeth so that a clean, unwaxed portion of the dental flossescan be used for the cleaning operation.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the dental floss is marked insections that are approximately a half inch long making up half inchalternate intervals of waxed and unwaxed sections. The floss is colorcoded so the waxed portion is blue in coloring and the unwaxed portionis the normal white floss color. The white color assists in revealingparticles that are partially absorbed and picked up by the floss.

The above mentioned and other features and objects of this inventiontogether with the manner of obtaining them will become more apparent andthe invention itself will be best understood by making reference to thefollowing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention takenin conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a section of color coded flat ribbon den- FIG. 2 shows across section of the dental floss of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a color coded section of circular dental floss; and

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the dental floss of FIG. 3.

Turning now to FIG. 1 therein 11 generally shows a section of dentalfloss. The dental floss has color coded markings thereon. Moreparticularly, there is seen section 12 which is shown cross hatchedindicating that it is colored differently than section 13, shown withoutany cross hatching. Similarly, sections 14 and 16 are also shown crosshatched, while section 17 is clear. The cross hatched sections indicatea color coding which in a preferred embodiment is blue. The colored andthe uncolored sections are of substantially equal length.

As can be seen in FIG. 2 the cross section 18 of the dental floss 11 isflat so that the general shape of the dental floss of FIG. 1 isribbon-like.

ln a similar manner FIG. 3 shows another section of dental floss,generally shown as 19, having cross hatched sections 21, 22 and 23separated by non-cross hatched sections 24 and 26.

As seen in FIG. 4 a cross sectional area of the dental floss of FIG. 3is circular and shown at 27. However, the important thing is that thecolor coded sections the cross hatched sections are covered withwax-like paraffin substance to facilitate using those sections inplacing the dental floss through the tight interproximal spaces toenable using the uncolor coded, i.e., the unwaxed portions of the dentalfloss to clean the proximal surfaces of the teeth.

The color coding makes it obvious to the user which sections are to beused for passing the floss through the tight interproximal spacesbetween the teeth, and which sections are to be used in cleaning theproximal surfaces of the teeth.

The blue coloring used is preferrably a vegetable dye which does notcome off in the salival environment of the mouth, and is non-toxic andharmless to the teeth and to the user. Thus, the color coded dentalfloss provided passes through the interproximal spaces with ease andwithout tearing, since a waxed portion is used for that purpose. Oncethrough the interproximal space it has the highly efficient absorbingpower of the unwaxed floss for use in removing the mucous plaque fromsurfaces.

Further, because of the waxy covering the floss or tape does not tear orleave strands caught between the teeth. The color coding makes itapparent to the user which portions of the floss have already been used,so that he will not reuse those portions, and thereby minimize passageof harmful bacteria from one interproximal space to anotherinterproximal space.

As shown in FIG. the floss is passed through the interproximal space 31between teeth 32 and 33 at a waxed section, such as section 21; whilethe actual cleaning process is performed by the unwaxed sections, suchas section 24. While the floss is in the space the waxed portion isplaced through the interproximal space; and since it is waxed, it goesthrough with relative ease, and does not tear. While the floss is in thespace, the waxed portion that is color coded is pulled laterally untilthe white portion 24 is in the space. This is readily accomplished bywinding a similar longitudinal section on the users finger so that theuser knows how much floss has been pulled through the interproximalspace. An up and down motion is used on the surface of one tooth andthen on the surface of the other tooth to remove mucous plaque.

The floss is use should form a C around each tooth before the up anddown motion is started. The floss then runs towards the neck of thetooth to the crest or margin of the gum tissue. After being so used itis pulled laterally again until the next waxed portion, that is colored,is in the interproximal space; then the floss can be removed without thedanger of tearing, so that 5 there is no redeposit of the plaque whenthe floss is re moved. The process is repeated for the nextinterproximal space using a fresh clean portion of dental floss.

Thus, the color coding helps the user in placing the new portion offloss in each interproximal space. Also, since the cleaning is done withunwaxed portions of the floss, there is minimal wax deposit on theinterproximal space. Thereafter, the contact point is the only place onwhich the wax floss comes in contact with the teeth, not in theinaccessible interproximal space. Further, plaque from one interproximalspace is not carried to another interproximal space when using the colorcoded dental floss in the method hereinabove described.

The color coding further serves as an incentive to people to use thisideal method of protecting teeth from mucous plaque and therebyimproving the dental health of the public in general.

while the principles of the invention have been described above inconnection with specific apparatus and applications, it is to beunderstood as a description made only by way of example, and not as alimitation on the scope of the invention.

1 claim: 1. A dental floss for use in removing mucous plaque from theinterproximal space of teeth,

sections of said floss being colored, and alternate sections of saidsections being uncolored whereby the user of the dental floss can morereadily distinguish those sections which have already been used. 2. Thedental floss of claim 1 wherein said sections and alternate sections areof equal length.

3. The dental floss of claim 1 wherein said sections are waxed and saidalternate sections are unwaxed.

4. The dental floss of claim 1 wherein said floss is rib- 40 bon-likewith a substantially rectangular cross section. 5. The dental floss ofclaim 1 wherein said floss has a round cross section.

6. The dental floss of claim 1 wherein said floss has a constant crosssectional area.

7. The dental floss of claim I wherein the floss is comprised of aplurality of twisted fibers.

8. The method of using the dental floss of claim 1, said methodcomprising the steps of:

placing a colored section of said floss at the space between the top oftwo contiguous teeth; moving the floss down between the teeth; winding asection of the floss to bring the uncolored section into position in theinterproximal space; moving the floss back and forth longitudinallyagainst the teeth as it is moved upward; winding the floss again until acolored section is in the interproximal space; and pulling the flossfrom between the teeth. 9. The method of claim 8 including the stepplacing (,0 the floss in a C-shape around the teeth so that the flossabuts the proximal surfaces while it is longitudinally moved.

1. A denTal floss for use in removing mucous plaque from theinterproximal space of teeth, sections of said floss being colored, andalternate sections of said sections being uncolored whereby the user ofthe dental floss can more readily distinguish those sections which havealready been used.
 2. The dental floss of claim 1 wherein said sectionsand alternate sections are of equal length.
 3. The dental floss of claim1 wherein said sections are waxed and said alternate sections areunwaxed.
 4. The dental floss of claim 1 wherein said floss isribbon-like with a substantially rectangular cross section.
 5. Thedental floss of claim 1 wherein said floss has a round cross section. 6.The dental floss of claim 1 wherein said floss has a constant crosssectional area.
 7. The dental floss of claim 1 wherein the floss iscomprised of a plurality of twisted fibers.
 8. The method of using thedental floss of claim 1, said method comprising the steps of: placing acolored section of said floss at the space between the top of twocontiguous teeth; moving the floss down between the teeth; winding asection of the floss to bring the uncolored section into position in theinterproximal space; moving the floss back and forth longitudinallyagainst the teeth as it is moved upward; winding the floss again until acolored section is in the interproximal space; and pulling the flossfrom between the teeth.
 9. The method of claim 8 including the stepplacing the floss in a C-shape around the teeth so that the floss abutsthe proximal surfaces while it is longitudinally moved.